Make Do & Mend Brooch

‘To dress extravagantly in war time is worse than bad form it is unpatriotic’. This saying was published on posters by the War Office during WW2 alongside other propaganda that encouraged women to make or mend their garments as clothing supplies were limited. I was also influenced by Jane Hampton’s book How the Girl Guides Won the War and the idea of awarding guide badges to those who save and mend rather than buying new. The aesthetics of the piece coveys an aged textile quality with the loose thread and needle showing the moment of sewing.